The words hung in the void, not fading, but settling around Koro's glowing form like a blanket. You will not return to poverty. They were so simple. So impossible. He felt like a man dying of thirst who'd just been shown an ocean.
You… you can do that? Koro's thought was a whisper, fragile with a hope he was afraid to feel.
"It is within the parameters of this exchange," the voice replied, its tone still that same infuriating, unshakable calm.
Exchange? That word snapped him back to reality, or whatever passed for it here. Nothing was ever free. Not in his old life, and probably not in the cosmic waiting room. What kind of exchange? What do I have to do? Fight demons? Save a princess? Please don't say paperwork. I hated paperwork.
The void gave the impression of a raised eyebrow, even without a face. "Your tasks will be… self-directed. The incentive is the life you have already fantasized about. The one you simulated in your game."
Koro's light flickered. My game?
"Business Empire: Richman."
A jolt, like a static shock, went through him. How did this… this facilitator know about that? He'd spent countless hours on that cracked phone screen, tapping away, building his digital kingdom. It was his secret shame and his greatest escape. He'd played it to the absolute finish. Every last achievement.
You mean…?
"Yes," the voice said, cutting off his stammering thought. "The net worth. The five hundred and twelve trillion."
Koro's mind went blank, then flooded with images from the game. A number with so many zeroes it looked like a line of code. It was Monopoly money. Fantasy. It wasn't real.
"It can be."
All of it? he pressed, his thoughts gaining speed, tumbling out in an excited rush. The fifty companies? The three clothing lines? The islands? The… what was it, a hundred and thirty-nine real estate properties?
"One hundred and thirty-nine," the voice confirmed, sounding almost like a patient accountant. "Including the skyscraper in Dubai you were so fond of. The hotel chain in Monaco. The private space agency. The blockchain platform you named 'Nexus.' All of it. The income you configured, approximately four hundred and seventy billion per hour, will be deposited into accounts you control."
Koro felt like his non-existent heart was about to hammer its way out of his non-existent chest. This was it. The ultimate cheat code. The dream he'd clutched onto in the dark. But his old life had taught him to look for the catch. There was always a catch.
Okay, okay, slow down, he thought, trying to wrestle his excitement into submission. So, I just… wake up as this guy? The 'Richman'? What about my old life? My family? My… my body?
"The integration is not seamless," the voice explained, its cadence never changing. "You will not gradually become wealthy. You will not have a history in this new reality. One moment, you are Koro, the 21-year-old from Bayelsa. The next, you wake up in the master bedroom of your penthouse in Manhattan, and the world will know you as Koro Bido, the reclusive, impossibly wealthy industrialist who has just… appeared."
Appeared? Koro's light dimmed slightly. So, no backstory? No one's gonna believe that! They'll think I'm a fraud! A criminal! They'll… I don't know, tax me!
"An uproar is the most likely initial outcome," the being agreed, utterly unfazed. "You will be the center of global attention. Governments, media, rivals… they will all descend upon you, demanding answers you do not have. The aftermath, as I said, will be yours to handle."
A cold dread began to mix with the fiery excitement. He'd have all the money, but also all the problems that came with appearing out of thin air with more wealth than some countries. He imagined news headlines, men in black suits asking questions, paparazzi camping outside his gate. It was terrifying.
So you're just dropping me in the deep end with a golden lifebuoy? he thought, a hysterical edge to his internal voice. What am I supposed to do? I can't even manage a monthly budget, and you want me to run a space agency?
"The wealth is only one component," the voice intoned, and for the first time, Koro sensed a subtle shift, a hint of something deeper. "With such concentrated economic power comes other forms of influence. Respect, born from fear and awe. And literal power."
Literal power? Like… what, a really good lawyer?
"No." The word was final. "Your physical, mental, and spiritual attributes will be elevated to the maximum capacity your world can sustain, and then pushed just beyond it."
Koro was silent, trying to process that. What does that even mean?
"It means your body will become a perfect vessel. You will be stronger, faster, and more resilient than any Olympic athlete, without ever needing to train. Your mind will operate with a clarity and speed you cannot currently conceive. You will learn languages in days, master complex subjects in weeks. Your intuition will border on precognition in business and personal matters."
The being paused, letting that sink in. "And your soul… your will… will have a weight to it. People will feel your presence in a room before they see you. Your determination will be a tangible force. This is not merely about being rich. It is about becoming a force of nature wrapped in human skin."
Koro tried to imagine it. Not just having money, but being… more. Being the guy who could walk into any room and own it without saying a word. The guy who could understand a complex business report at a glance. The guy who never got sick, never got tired. It was the ultimate power fantasy, straight out of his favorite novels.
But it was also a colossal responsibility. A terrifying one.
And… that's it? he asked, almost afraid of the answer. I get all this, and you just… let me go? What's in it for you?
The void was silent for a long moment. "Your existence, in that state, in that world, creates a… resonance. A interesting data point. Your journey is the incentive. For me."
It was the most human, and yet the most alien, thing the being had said. It wasn't about souls or cosmic balance. It was about curiosity. Koro was going to be someone's favorite TV show.
A wild thought struck him. So I'm basically the main character of my own anime now?
"If that conceptual framework helps you, then yes."
Koro's light pulsed, bright and steady. The fear was still there, a cold knot in his core. But layered over it was a blazing, unstoppable excitement. This was the ultimate "what if." What if the game became real? What if he could have all that power? What if he never had to worry about money again? He could help his family. His community. He could do… anything.
The memory of his mother's tired eyes, the leaky roof, the empty pockets—they were still sharp, still painful. But they were no longer a life sentence. They were just a memory. A place he was leaving behind forever.
He made his choice.
Alright, he thought, putting all the bravado he could muster into the single word. Let's do it. Let's go be the richest man in the world.
The deep voice filled the void one last time, a note of what might have been satisfaction coloring its edges.
"Then we have a deal."
The void did not so much shatter as it simply… changed. The nothingness swirled, colors he had no name for bleeding into existence. He felt a terrifying, exhilarating lurch, like the biggest roller coaster drop in history.
The last thing he was aware of was the feeling of something solid forming beneath him—a soft, expensive mattress—and the distant, panicked sound of ringing phones.